Microcredit programs, in which borrowers receive very small loans and work together to ensure repayment and support each other in business, have proven to be crucial to progress in underdeveloped countries, and Eritrea is no exception. After a 30-year war of liberation Eritrea is in the process of building its national identity and commerce, and as activist Zamperetti and Della Costa (sociology, U. of Padua) have found, microcredit is central to the growth of commerce and has found its place in a wide variety of people and settings. Focusing on female empowerment, they describe how microcredit works within strongly traditional life, describing the methodology of microcredit, the business and social environment of Eritrea, and the programs that apply the methods of microcredit in Eritrea. They also describe the experiences of women in a number of case studies. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
